Day 21: Break Every Yoke

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”

Isaiah 58:6 

When we think of Lent we think of what we might fast from – chocolate, alcohol, social media, etc. The question is, what are our motivations? Is it from some sort of sense of duty or because of the tradition we were brought up in? In this verse we see some of the things that we can pray for and even be involved in doing, as we fast, that bring true delight to God. They are all other people focused – praying for bonds to be loosed, yokes to be broken, freedom for the oppressed. Essentially, the fast that God chooses is the fasting of our self; self-obsession, self-absorption, self-interest, self-importance, self-righteousness, and to focus on the needs and the concerns of others. As we do this, and move towards Easter, we reflect the way that Jesus sacrificed himself for us. 

Scott Taylor